"Strongly approve" is only 1:4 people, not exactly a huge vote of confidence

Of course the mainstream media headlines are 72% of Portland residents approve of Trimet!This is the typical BS we see coming out of Trimet with the mainstream media stooges reprinting whatever they are told to.Ridiculous

Always suspicious of these so called polls.

It's definitely used for propaganda purposes to justify the huge salaries paid to unelected technocrats that run the transit system with zero public accountability.

This POLL is very general in nature and given the fact that the vast majority of the public is unfamiliar with the nuts and bolts issues surrounding Trimet operations the result is pretty

If Trimet actually believed this themselves they would have a tax increase ballot measure in the works.

Instead they are attempting a back door tax increase using their cronies at the state legislature.

• Overall rider satisfaction remained constant at 87 percent, the same as in 2014.
• Overall approval of TriMet remained high at 72 percent
• 87 percent of non-riders said they value the benefits that TriMet provides to the region, up from 84 percent in 2014.
DHM noted that this survey included more responses from non-riders,
which played a role in overall slightly lower ratings, as riders
typically provide higher ratings. The results were released today at the
board of directors meeting.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

I don't know of any other US transit agency that is so unfriendly to its low income riders. The cell phone app forces low income to spend a minimum of $5 and now this new e-fare system, that nobody asked for, is being forced down riders throats.Well guess what? Trimet supports the "cashless society" meme. Of course it does.

This e-fare system is blatant discrimination of low income riders, and the most outrageous part is Trimet is forcing everyone onto this system and is forcing them to BUY the card. Really dispicable but its par for the course from Trimet and the un-elected technocrats that run the placeTrimet doesn't give a damn about riders. That ended when Fred Hansen became general manager and continues at a faster pace under Mcfarlane. The only thing this transit agency cares about is the developer class.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

I'm getting a lot of heat again since I keep criticizing Bruce Hansen. I need to make this clear, I was a supporter of Bruce's right up till this new contract. That is when he lost my support, I had no issues with Bruce up till then.

We need to remember that Bruce was following the path of the previous President (Jonathan Hunt) in being hard-line against any further give backs.

Then one day, out of the blue, Bruce decides to forget everything that has happened and decides he will make a deal with Trimet. He fires Ron Heintzman and locks Jon Hunt out of the process.

There was no notice, there was no discussion, it was Bruce taking charge and doing what he wanted to do. And that is when he lost my support. I don't know why he decided to make that decision he hasn't shared the story with the rest of us. He says its "because we would lose everything in arbitration". I don't believe it for a second.

As a result of that decision I lost 20% of my puny retirement. I had no idea when I retired that Trimet would be backdating cuts to include all the past employees. And that is where I turned against Bruce.

Below the break is a republishing of the timelines of the last contract which ended my support for Bruce

This is a re-post due to the Department of Labor delaying the decisionAs regular readers know, the US Department of Labor will be making a decision on the CHALLENGES to the last ATU757 election. That ruling will come at the end of this month at the latest.Below the break is the Dept Of Labor guidelines for their investigations. The last time there was a new election ordered for our union it was Heitnzmen vs Fiest. Heinztman ended up winning that new election which was ordered by the ATU International. I put that story below the break also

I think I need to clear the air on my outburst at Monday’s Charter meeting. The context had to do with the investigation of the DOL and our elections, specifically the e-mail challenges.

In 2012 there was an Activist email sent out that was not BCC’d (blind carbon copied). I saved the list and used it to send e-mails along with a list of e-mails that I had gathered along the way. Along the way I let a now former e-board officer know that I had it, they informed the former President and the former President confirmed to me that he knew that I had it.

Fast forward to the current elections, the current VP (campaigning with his ticket) used the Activist list to send out disparaging e-mails concerning a now former President. In an interview with the DOL representative, they stated the current VP “admitted” that they used an e-mail list to campaign. Now the crucks of the issue is that the current VP stated that the list he used came from me and that it was free and clear to use since it was not from union resources. During the interview with the DOL, I provided evidence and statements that destroyed the current VPs statements.

Now to current events, I received a call from an attorney representing ATU757 concerning challenging any DOL outcomes and needed information concerning interviews with the DOL and candidates. I told them the same thing I said to the DOL (without divulging the evidentiary information), then they wanted me to sign a statement that would possibly challenge whatever the DOL ruling that would come. I said “NO”; I would not change my story for you or anyone else. Plus, I find it offensive that they would be using union resources to fight the DOL for using union resources. I told that person that I find it a conflict of interest that they should be calling me and trying to convince me to change my statement, when they were the ones who violated the rules and now are using union resources to fight what they did.

Lastly, an e-board officer at Monday Charter made a recommendation that the officers “accept” any ruling the DOL hands down.

ATU 757 Brothers & Sisters: I wanted to share with all of you
various tactics used by some in management to erode cba rights & to
cause infighting among members. An illustrative example is the recent
"block runs" issue at TriMet.

TriMet convinced the former leader
of the Union to agree to change how bus operators and other
transportation employees bid their run and work assignments. The
agreement was made and signed without a vote of the membership, and diminished seniority rights which affected hours of work, work location, run assignments, etc. These changes
appeared to benefit low seniority employees at the expense of high
seniority employees, providing for and causing a rift between employees;
those who had seniority and wanted to keep it, and those with low seniority who benefited from the change without membership approval.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Originally I thought this had something to do with the new taxes but I guess it actually doesn't.
As usual their 'improvement' offer nothing specific. Words like "more" and "earlier" are useless.
We need to know specifics. If they say "more" we want to know how much more? One bus an hour? One bus every 2 hours? That should be easy to specify. Earlier? How much earlier? These should be simple questions and should have answers.

Dan has been writing like the "Dan of the old days".Remember Trimet confidential? I sure do. Trimet made him take that blog down and he has been pretty quiet for all the years since that incidentBut now, he's back! Here's a great comment on Bike Portland

Attached
are photographs taken of TriMet meal and lunch break areas, and show
how TriMet is failing to provide clean facilities for its employees.
TriMet's refusal to ensure clean and safe facilities is a disgrace and
shows lack of empathy for employees.

View
these photographs and ask yourself if you would like to spend your
breaks and lunch time in these areas? Just imagine if it was pouring
rain or cold outside and you were forced to use these facilities because
no other option was available?

The
restroom and break facilities used by Neil McFarlane and Randy Stedman
don’t look like this. They don’t have to smell mold and mildew on a
daily basis. Why should their employees?

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

The Trimet technocrats, some of the most brilliant technocrats in the USA, have figured out the best way to find money to FEED THE MONSTER is an end run around the voters by using their extensive crony contacts in the State legislature. Currently the legislator is controlled by DEMOCRATS . The democrats, having had exclusive power for many years have developed an efficient machine which Trimet is an integral component. It is called the LIGHT RAIL MAFIA and its function is to keep tax dollars flowing to the crony contractors of Oregon.Federal dollars have dried up so Trimet is looking at its own "tax base" to support its ongoing expansion. Why bother going to the voters when you can get the job done using the contacts already in place.Elliot Njus told me he wouldn't cover THIS STORY until it had teeth, which meant until it had a real chance of becoming law. Well here we go folks, Trimet is attempting to institute a withholding tax on every paycheck in the State of Oregon. Will it become law? They have their cronies in place to pass such a law so watch out.You have to understand, Trimet is a "technocracy" .Technocrats live in a parallel universe from the citizenry. They are totally unaccountable to voters. The technocrats in charge of Trimet have total control of the agency, there is nothing that any citizen group can do to influence it. They have formed powerful allies over the years, and the Trimet technocrats have made sure the multi millions flowing through there get into the pockets of the right people. It's a brilliant scam. Only with the advent of social media has the secret become public, and the Portland public is slowly waking up to the truth about "their" transit system Below the break are some comments about this story that are useful

Monday, February 8, 2016

Harry Saporta Part of the Leadership team. He is the “Executive Director of Safety and Security”Let
me start by saying this. I have no axe to grind with the management of
Tri-Met. I would hate to do their jobs. I do on the other hand have a
strong strong feeling for Safety and the Truth. I always want the truth
no matter how that makes me or Tri-Met appear to the public. I believe
saying the truth can get you a black eye, but no more black eye’s then
you deserve if you are doing something wrong. It also forces you to
change in good ways and earns the respect of those around you. So
one Day Harry Sapporta Comes to Powell Garage. He came to us for this
most rare of rare visits bringing along the head of the Transit police
and a few officers. He came to tell us about safety not talk with us.
After his long opening speech touting a miraculous 25% reduction in
criminal activity he made the mistake of asking if anyone of us had any
questions before he continued on. The hand full of drivers there at the
Garage that afternoon, no more then 12, grumbled in dubious silence.No
one said a thing so he was about to go on when I raised my hand. To
this day I kick myself that I did not start recording this on my iPhone.
It was obvious he came armed to tell not to listen, He came ready for
us to believe and to comply not to be challenged. I asked him where did the 25% reduction in Violence come from? Bus or train? He didn’t have the breakdown off hand.